June 1-15, 2009
Volume 17 - Number 10
$1

Prolétaires de tous les pays, unissez-vous!
Otatoskewak ota kitaskinahk mamawestotan!
Workers of all lands, unite
Contents
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PV FUND DRIVE - 17th ANNUAL BANQUET ON JUNE 20
1) LABOUR PLANS JUNE 13 RALLY TO DEMAND "FIX EI NOW"
2) THE ABSURD MR. HARPER - Editorial
3) WHY NOT BE LIKE ECUADOR? - Editorial
4) BC PARAMEDICS WAGE "CONDITION CRITICAL CAMPAIGN"
5) CFS FOCUSES ON ABORIGINAL STUDENTS
6) STUDENT MOVEMENT TODAY: TACTICS AND PRIORITIES
7) POVERTY DRAINING NOVA SCOTIA'S ECONOMY
8) "THEY ACTUALLY CALL THIS EQUALITY"
9) WHAT IS THE FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY?
10) "GREEN SHOOTS" WITHER UNDER HEAT OF RECESSION
11) JOYA CONDEMNS NATO WAR CRIMES IN AFGHANISTAN
12) SOMALI PIRACY: PREDICTABLE RESULT OF GLOBAL EXPLOITATION
13) A CLEAR ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS
14) NEW COMMUNIST PM FOR NEPAL
15) WAVE OF FASCIST ATTACKS FOLLOWS INDIAN ELECTION
16) WHAT'S LEFT
 17) PODCAST OF PEOPLE'S VOICE ARTICLES
18) CLARTÉ (en français)
19 THE SPARK! (Theoretical and Discussion Bulletin of the Communist Party of Canada)
20) INTRODUCING MARXISM: A COMMUNIST PARTY STUDY COURSE
21) REBEL YOUTH


PEOPLE'S VOICE JUNE 1-15 (pdf)

SOCIALISM IS THE ALTERNATIVE



The Spark!
Theoretical and Discussion Bulletin of the Communist Party of Canada

The Spark!

The latest issue of The Spark! theoretical journal, is now on sale for $5 at Communist Party offices (see p. 8) or People’s Co-op Books, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.

Articles include
  • “Introduction to a General Theory of Culture” (Barry Lord);
  • “Political & Economic Realities Behind Colombian Labour Relations” (Sacouman, Moore & Brittain); 
  • “Treaty Process & Indian Nationalism” (Ray Bobb);
  • “Lenin: Heritage of the Socialist Market Economy” (C.J. Atkins);
  • “Nature of the State Under Bush & Harper” (Stephen Von Sychowski);
  • plus reviews, editorials, and more.

People's Voice deadlines:
JUNE 16-30
Thursday, June 4
Send submissions to PV Editorial Office,
706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, V5L 3J1, pvoice@telus.net





People's Voice finds many "Global Class Struggle" reports at the "Labour Start" website, http://www.labourstart.org. We urge our readers to check it out!

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1) LABOUR PLANS JUNE 13 RALLY TO DEMAND "FIX EI NOW"

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

     Thousands of workers were forced to turn to self-employment in April 2009 because they can't find jobs or get Employment Insurance, says the Canadian Labour Congress, which is joining with the Toronto and York Region Labour Council and the Good Jobs For All Coalition to organize a major rally in Toronto.

     The "Good Jobs For All" rally will start at 1 pm, Saturday, June 13, from Metro Hall, on King Street between University Ave. and John Street. As many as 10,000 people are expected to take part, demanding that governments take action to fix the Employment Insurance system, protect pensions, and "deal with greedy banks."

     Responding to recent Statistics Canada figures for April, CLC president Ken Georgetti said, "We're seeing unemployed workers, especially older workers, turning to self-employment in desperation. There is little out there in the way of job creation and far too many people can't get Employment Insurance."

     While the official level of employment increased by 35,900, this was due entirely to the rise in self-employment, since the Canadian economy actually lost 1,100 jobs in April.

     Statistics Canada data also shows that almost 60% of unemployed workers are not receiving EI benefits. Georgetti said there is a growing consensus in favour of EI reform. "People are telling pollsters that EI should be improved, newspapers are saying the same thing, and the opposition parties are threatening an election on the issue. The Prime Minister and his cabinet are the only ones who seem prepared to allow unemployed Canadians to fend for themselves."

     The CLC has repeatedly called on the government to change accessibility rules to provide regular EI benefits on the basis of 360 hours of work, to make all workers eligible for up to 50 weeks of EI benefits, and to raise benefits immediately to 60% of a worker's best 12 weeks of earnings.

     The unemployment rate remained at 8.0% in April, despite the fact that an additional 8,000 Canadians were unemployed. The broadest measure of unemployment (R8), which includes discouraged workers and involuntary part-time workers, is rising rapidly, from 8.0% in October 2008 to 12.4% in March 2009. (These data are not seasonally adjusted, but the "real" rate of unemployment was also up sharply compared to March 2008). Canada now has over 1,464,600 unemployed, an increase of 27.2% since last October, with 347,400 full-time jobs lost during that period.

     Another negative trend is that the participation rate is falling, from 67.8% in October 2008 to 67.4% in March 2009. Meanwhile, the proportion of part-time workers in the labour force rose from 18.6% to 19.0% between October and February. Over the last year, the percentage of part-timers saying they were in that status because of business conditions rose from 20.7% to 24.9%.

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2) THE ABSURD MR. HARPER

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

People's Voice Editorial

The battle over Employment Insurance heated up when Stephen Harper called proposals to improve access and benefits "absurd." The opposition parties in Parliament have been pressing the minority Tory government to allow workers who lose their jobs after 360 hours of work to qualify for benefits - 19 weeks or 37 weeks, say the Liberals and NDP respectively. Mr. Harper has gone ballistic, calling these periods "a year" in one of his overheated blasts of right-wing rhetoric.

     Like his despised predecessor "Iron Heel" Bennett, Harper is committed to expanding the "reserve army of the unemployed," giving the corporations greater power to hold down wages and increase profits. What better way to keep workers hungry and desperate than to deny access to an insurance program which every worker pays into?

     The real absurdity is that Canadian workers have collectively paid over $50 billion more into EI than they have received in benefits. For 20 years, the program has been used as a cash cow by Liberal and Tory federal governments. Successive changes in eligibility requirements have left most laid-off workers unable to collect. Officially, only 40% of unemployed workers are eligible for EI, receiving a paltry average cheque of $330. Since discouraged job seekers and those working a few hours a week are not counted in official unemployment figures, the real jobless rate is now over 12% in Canada. That means over a million unemployed workers can't collect EI.

     That's not "absurd". It's a criminal policy to impose mass poverty. The labour movement is mobilizing to demand improvements in EI, and the opposition parties have pledged to challenge Harper on this issue. It remains to be seen what will happen next in Parliament, but the need to defeat the Tories remains the crucial political imperative for working people in Canada.
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3) WHY NOT BE LIKE ECUADOR?

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

People's Voice Editorial

Whenever public ownership of Canada's energy industry is raised, timid voices ask: "Wouldn't the Americans send in the Marines?" Such responses prove that most Canadians understand the brutal nature of U.S. imperialism, but without control of this critical resource, working people will never be in a position to build an economy that meets our needs.

     The experience of other countries is relevant, including some which are much smaller than Canada. For example, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa said on May 25 that key sectors of the economy, including oil and mines, must be in government hands. Correa has reversed Ecuador's traditional meek surrender to U.S. corporations, pressing the mining and oil companies to adopt new contracts more favourable to the people of Ecuador, but without moving so far to nationalize foreign transnationals. Now, Correa says he will push for more state control in the oil industry via

new contracts. At a joint news conference with Correa, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country's drive to nationalize strategic economic sectors would continue. In recent weeks, oil service companies and iron producers have been taken under public ownership. Venezuela and Ecuador have also established a joint fund for investment in energy projects.

     Much of the world is moving rapidly to public control of the most crucial natural resource of the 21st century. How long will private ownership of oil and gas in Canada continue, depriving Aboriginal peoples of meaningful control of their traditional territories, and guaranteeing that exports to the U.S. will continue even if Canadians are freezing in the dark? The time has come to stand up for Canada by acting more like Ecuador and Venezuela.
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4) BC PARAMEDICS WAGE "CONDITION CRITICAL CAMPAIGN"

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Sam Hammond

In British Columbia, there is a creature of the Emergency and Health Services Act called the Emergency and Health Services Commission (EHSC), which operates the British Columbia Ambulance Service (BCAS). While these are stand alone, fully funded government agencies, in reality they operate very closely under the BC Ministry of Health Services.

     Prior to the 1973 Foulkes Commission report ("Health Security for British Columbians"), ambulance services had been provided by a hodgepodge of volunteer groups, fire departments, funeral homes and private enterprises. Acting on the report, the BC government passed the Emergency and Health Services Act, which created the EHSC and BCAS. The 3500 employees of the BCAS, the Ambulance Paramedics of BC, working in 190 ambulance stations and the Patient Transfer Fleet, are represented by CUPE Local 873.

     The ambulance service is deteriorating rapidly, because of direct neglect and the general starvation of funding to the health care system. For instance, the cost-saving centralization of specialized services in urban centres has necessitated more patient transfers onto a fleet that has remained static in size. This means that emergency response ambulances must be used to supplement patient transfers, leaving communities with inadequate or no emergency response for periods of time.

     With a growing population, and an increasing percentage of seniors, the number of emergency response calls rose 150,000 from the year 2000 to 2006, and more since then. But in the last ten years, the number of ambulances and paramedics has remained the same. The target of a nine minute response has slipped in the last several years to an average of fifteen minutes. These minutes can cost lives.

     In early February, the Ambulance Paramedics of British Columbia launched the "Critical Condition Campaign" to expose the rapid decline of ambulance service and to enlist public support to reverse the damage. There have been newspaper ads and the launch of the http://www.saveourparamedics.com website.

     The historic parity of emergency response workers (paramedics, police and fire-fighters) has disappeared over the years, and the paramedics want to restore it. If the city of Vancouver is used as an example the wage gap is $10.46 with police and $6.13 with fire-fighters (who have also slipped from parity).

     CUPE Local 873 wants to achieve parity over a seven year period, which would require a 22-27% wage increase spread over the seven years. This is certainly a very patient and responsible offer. In response, on March 27 the British Columbia Ambulance Service made "a last ditch offer" of 3% over one year, dangling the traditional carrot of a signing bonus.

     With the authority of a 96% strike mandate from early February, CUPE Local 873 president John Strohmaier rejected the offer as completely inadequate and set a 72 hour strike deadline.

     But Lee Doney, CEO of the Emergency and Health Services Commission, said "this is a significant offer and, from the employers' perspective, it exhausts our financial capability", referring to the limit the Campbell government has put on the provision of health services.

     George Abbott, Health Minister at the time, said he was disappointed that the union had rejected the offer without letting the members vote on it. The union got its mandate from a 96% strike vote achieved through a mail-in ballot, with 70% of members voting. If British Columbia citizens had voted in these numbers, we would probably have a different government today. The union has a democratic mandate, which the Campbell government does not. So much for ministerial BS.

     The paramedics face the same challenge, the same pending escalation of financial starvation, that all B.C. public sector workers are facing. The stated aim of the Liberals during the election campaign was to downsize services. This will be done by financial starvation, deteriorating services and privatization.

     Many public sector workers, and especially paramedics, cannot withdraw their labour because they are an "essential service". The paramedics are pledged to guarantee public safety during their job action; indeed, their entire working lives are dedicated to public safety. Essential service means that you cannot strike. When lives are at stake, there has never been an occasion where trade union members have abandoned their patients.

     It is too bad that those who cannot strike can still be insulted, demeaned, overworked, laid off and privatized. This is not a level playing field. Please support the B.C. paramedics and their fight for parity and improved public emergency pre-hospital health care.
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5) CFS FOCUSES ON ABORIGINAL STUDENTS

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

Special to PV

Funding for aboriginal post-secondary education will be a top priority of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) together with campaigns to combat skyrocketing tuition fees in the upcoming 2009-2010 semester, the CFS has announced after a membership meeting in Ottawa.

     Almost three hundred delegates attended the 55th CFS Semi-Annual General meeting during mid-May, which also addressed student debt and corporate influence on campuses especially at the governing board level, including how to increase student representation on governing boards.

     There have been a number of provincial mobilizations of the Federation this past year, Katherine Giroux-Bougard, National Chairperson of the CFS, told People's Voice, pointing to student actions like the occupation of the Manitoba Legislature and mass mobilizations across Ontario. The CFS, Giroux-Bougard said, is focusing around the upcoming federal election as a forum to advance student issues.

     "[Our] discussions around the last federal budget have shown how it was a missed opportunity to invest in public education," Giroux-Bougard said, noting that the current US administration has provided greater funding towards research and accessibility than Harper's Conservative government. A special guest to the meeting came from the United States Student Association.

     Giroux-Bougard added that the Federal budget also short-changed students by providing no new funding to the Canada summer jobs programme.

     "Overall, students live the burden of student debt every day, and understand well the detrimental impacts of reduced access to education," Giroux-Bougard told PV. Through meetings like these, CFS membership votes on all motions, and develops strategy as well, she said. "I think that there is a lot of interest by members in carrying out an action plan engaged on the ground."

     Although there have been some positive developments on the provincial level such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario is rapidly moving to become the province with the highest tuition fees in the country.

     National Chief Phil Fontaine of the Assembly of First Nations also addressed the meeting, highlighting the inadequate federal government role in aboriginal education. Since 1996 there has been a two per cent funding cap on many social programmes for Aboriginal peoples, including post-secondary support. This is despite persistent inflation and the biggest demographic boom in Canada among Aboriginal youth in the same time. Between 1996 and 2006 there has been a 47 per cent increase in the Aboriginal population.

     According to the Assembly of First Nations, almost 2,600 eligible Aboriginal students were denied access to education funding last school year. Statistics Canada reports that 43 per cent of Aboriginal peoples have obtained a high school diploma, while only 5 per cent have a university degree. (In the non-Aboriginal population the figure is 15 per cent for both, respectively).

     The CFS has also prepared fact-sheets which note that while access to education is a right of all people, it is also a Treaty right recognized in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982. The legacy of colonial education of Aboriginal peoples, however, includes residential schools and successive failed or inadequate government programmes including the current Post Secondary Student Support Programme.

     Aboriginal peoples not only need more funding, one CFS fact-sheet says, noting that "the rights of aboriginal peoples to self-governance extend to control over the education process." They call for Aboriginal-led institutions that enable Aboriginal instructors, students and elders to develop circular reflecting the needs of communities and empowering students.

     "The number of aboriginal students with the grades to continue post-secondary education in no way matches the funding," Giroux-Bougard said, adding that the National Aboriginal caucus is very active on the issue and that the CFS plans to make raise this item much more in their general campaign strategy.   
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6) STUDENT MOVEMENT TODAY: TACTICS AND PRIORITIES

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

Youth Fightback column, by Johan Boyden

One of the contentious resolutions at last month's Canadian Federation of Students general meeting condemned the recent massacre of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. After this debate, what is new and significant in the Canadian student movement?

     Of course, context is needed. The CFS is the most numerically significant component of the Canadian student movement, although it excludes the two militant student organizations in Quebec with tens of thousands of members. It also excludes the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), deliberately engineered as a right-wing split over a decade ago.

     The CFS is potentially the "tip of the spear" of the student fight back, especially in English-speaking Canada. The CFS meeting therefore had great significance, not least with the Harper Tory government attacking public funding of post-secondary education.

     To most young people, the CFS meeting was invisible. We can hold the corporate media primarily responsible for that. But many progressive youth and students are starting to wonder: who is to blame for the absence of loud and proud protest on a cross-Canada level against the escalating tuition fee crisis?

     To be sure, the CFS will campaign in the next federal election - presumably evaluating platforms. And if Harper's term in office wasn't enough to convince youth that elections are significant, just look at how elections have framed the tuition fight-back in Ontario, BC, Manitoba and now Nova Scotia.

     Last year's CFS federal election campaign was half-baked - leaflets delivered too late, strategy not thought-out, Greens rated perhaps too harshly (and the Communists, who advocate for tuition fee elimination, omitted). That criticism was raised at the last CFS meeting. Now, apparently, things will be different. But if you can't vote, either because you are too young or not a citizen, what's the appeal? And is this tactic sufficient?

     Frankly, the answer is no. Yet reflection on the student fight back can not start and end with a discussion of tactics alone, or calls for "a diversity of tactics." Of course I agree, to borrow the title of one progressive student publication, we must be "Upping the Anti." But beyond activist hipster phrases, there is a concrete problem: can meaningful parliamentary advance be achieved without the people's mass action?

     Look at Manitoba: the NDP campaigned for a tuition freeze, but is implementing an increase. Currently in Nova Scotia, the NDP is only campaigning on tax credits to address student debt! Students can't rely on their friends in a political party and privately hope they'll be the engine to bring our train home.

     Having not had a major cross-Canada "day of action" in several years, it's fair to ask if the student movement isn't dangerously shifting towards a latent rather than a active force.

     That brings us back to Sri Lanka.

     Not that the resolution was mistaken; rather, it was congruent with the deeper commitment of the CFS to the peace movement. The parochial claim that internationalism is somehow in conflict with "bread and butter" struggles flies against solidarity and all its cardinal principles. Ultimately, we share the same oppressors in the form of imperialism.

     But if mass action and mobilization for the right to accessible education are neglected, reactionary forces within and outside the student movement will have another cleavage to exploit. There is historical precedent here. During the Vietnam war, the Canadian Union of Students imploded, largely for not balancing an agenda of anti-imperialist solidarity work with the more immediate concerns of members.

     Access to education could be the campus issue that "electrifies the third rail." This is already the main dynamo inside the student movement, one that can be neglected but never turned off. Once a force is in motion it won't spontaneously stop; but nor will it necessarily move in the strongest way.

     Unity is a struggle. Some on the left sidelines might be inclined to slag the student leadership as reformist social democratic careerists, call for a "real" fightback, and quietly wash their hands of participation in campaigns to reduce tuition.

     It would be just as mistaken to deny weaknesses within the student movement as to claim this is the central problem. Student activists have a choice: slide towards advocacy, or fuel up a militant Canada-wide campaign, with allies like labour, people's forces, and parents - for ultimately our demand is raising living standards of the people as a whole.

     (Boyden is the general secretary of the Young Communist League.)
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7) POVERTY DRAINING NOVA SCOTIA'S ECONOMY

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Betsy MacDonald

June 9 is election day in Nova Scotia, and the economy is at the top of the political agenda. Our leaders agree that Nova Scotians need more jobs, and that government intervention is required to help the province through economic hard times.

     Where, then, is the discussion of poverty?

     Poverty is, without question, a major drain on our economy. It imposes large costs on our health care system and other public services. It keeps people from realizing their human potential and contributing fully to economic and social life.

     Poverty is connected to other forms of social inequality. The majority of Canada's poor are women, and you are more likely to be poor if you are a single mother, Aboriginal, from a visible minority community, or living with a disability.

     Poverty is not inevitable or natural; it is structural and linked to policies made by governments. In Nova Scotia, the cycle of poverty is perpetuated through a less-than-living minimum wage, a federal Employment Insurance (EI) policy that discriminates against women and the insecurely employed, inadequate income assistance, barriers to education and training for single mothers, lack of affordable housing, transportation and childcare, and other programs and policies that have the effect of legislating inequality.

     Once we recognize that poverty is policy-created, we must ask ourselves: Is this acceptable? If poverty could be reduced through progressive policies and legislation, what are we waiting for?

     We need to press for real changes at the provincial and federal levels that reverse, rather than exacerbate, poverty and the oppression of women. We must fight for affordable housing and childcare, more accessible education and training, pay equity, a fairer EI system, better funding for women's centres and transition houses, and a social assistance program that allows women and their families to live with dignity.

     Until we demand that our politicians recognize and address the root causes of poverty, people and communities in our province will continue to suffer, and Nova Scotia will not live up to its potential. We need to elect a government that will represent the interests of workers, women, and all others who are exploited through the capitalist system. Our leaders must take immediate action to address the real needs of people living in poverty in Nova Scotia.

     Eradicating poverty is an economic and social investment that cannot be put off any longer.

     This article is written as part of the Women and Girls Matter! campaign led by Women's Centres Connect!, the association of Nova Scotia women's centres. There is an increasing demand on women's services in the province, and this demand is not being met by current levels of government funding for women's centres and transition houses. The goal of the campaign is to ensure that women's services here can attract and retain qualified staff by providing fair and adequate salaries. We are asking candidates in the 2009 Nova Scotia election to commit to this goal, so that women and girls are able to access services, resources, referrals, information and programs that address their needs. So far, the leaders of the Nova Scotia Green Party, Liberal Party and NDP have responded positively to the campaign, as well as several Green, Liberal, NDP and Progressive Conservative candidates. For more information visit http://womenandgirlsmatter.blogspot.com/.

     (Betsy MacDonald works with Women's Centres Connect!, the association of Women's Centres in Nova Scotia.)
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8) "THEY ACTUALLY CALL THIS EQUALITY"

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

The facts contradict the Harper Tory government's claim of support for women's equality, according to the National Union of Provincial Government Employees. In a hard-hitting new leaflet being distributed to union members and the wider public, NUPGE exposes the real Harper record on several critical equality issues. Here are some excerpts:

     Since the Harper Conservatives took power they have systematically attacked women's equality," says the leaflet.

"Through cuts to the Status of Women Canada (SWC), including closing 12 out of 16 regional offices, eligibility requirements which ban  women's groups seeking funding from engaging in advocacy or feminist research and the word `equality' being removed from the mandate of the SWC, the message that has been sent is that women in Canada have obtained equality. It is hard to imagine a government that believes this fact to be true can steer our country, whose population is 52% female and where 70% of females work, through an economic crisis. If Canadian women have obtained equality why is it that 2 out of 3 minimum wage earners are female, 1 out of 7 Canadian women lives in poverty and there are twice as many female seniors living in poverty as males.

     This was the reality before the economic crisis began, and with the government turning a blind eye to these facts we know that the situation will only become worse for Canadian women. With the situation for Canadian women already on an unstable foundation, the Conservative government in its Federal Budget 2009 literally left women in the quicksand.

Employment

     Women are more likely to work part-time (nearly 70% of the part-time workforce), non-standard hours and have extended periods of time out of the workforce to handle family responsibilities. It is harder for women to accumulate the number of hours to qualify for EI - in fact, less than 33% of unemployed women qualify. For those who do qualify, the low weekly benefit often means that they and their children are driven into poverty.

The Federal Budget 2009 extended EI for 5 weeks; however, this does absolutely nothing to help the vast majority of women who cannot qualify for benefits in the first place.

     Early childhood education and child care promotes economic stimulus through job creation, labour-force participation, and increased local economic activity - research indicates that for every $1 spent on child care there is a ripple effect of $1.58 in the local economy. It has been shown to be instrumental in reducing poverty and lowering social program costs. Despite these facts, the budget does nothing to provide or improve access to affordable child care.

Tax cuts

     Canadian women as a group are poorer, have less secure jobs, own less property, have fewer savings and less pension income. Those most affected are Aboriginal women, immigrant women, women with disabilities, single women with children and older women who live alone. During economically good times, 40% of Canadian women do not earn enough to pay income taxes and 38% fall into the lowest tax bracket. Simply put, tax cuts do not benefit the vast majority of women in this country.

Pay equity

     The pay gap between genders is staggering - a Canadian woman earns 71 cents for every dollar a Canadian male earns. The gap is even larger for those who have earned a post-secondary degree. The Harper government has steadfastly refused to implement Pay Equity Legislation to rectify this issue. As part of the 2009 budget, the Conservatives introduced legislation which prohibits female public sector workers from filing a pay equity complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The new `equitable compensation' rules move pay equity to the bargaining table and also make it subject to the prevailing market conditions within the private sector.

Child care

     In 2004, the OECD ranked Canada last among developed countries in terms of access to early learning and child care spaces and last in terms of public investment. For those able to find spaces, the child care fees are among the highest in the world. For female single parents, many of whom are poor and cannot afford any child care fees, a universal early education and child care program is essential for them to seek further education, train for work, obtain decent jobs or accept job promotions.

Job creation programs

     Investing in physical infrastructure benefits those employed in the construction industry - a male dominated industry. Only 7% of construction workers and those in the trades are female; however, in the social infrastructure of child care, home support, social work, health care and public school teaching, women dominate the workforce. These programs also provide essential supports to women who often bear the brunt of care giving responsibilities. The budget's heavy investment in physical infrastructure and not social infrastructure discriminates against Canadian women by not providing stimulus into areas where women are more likely to be employed. It also provides no incentives to train and employ women in the trades or construction fields. Women, especially marginalized women, work in precarious jobs which often are the first to be eliminated during an economic recession.

     Child care, EI and pay equity are just a few of the issues confronting Canadian women as the economy tightens. Governments must invest in social infrastructure which puts money into fields with high female employment and at the same time provides services which support our children, our elderly and our sick. Let's address the issues that form the foundation of our country and ensure that Canadian women are on equal ground in this country.
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9) WHAT IS THE FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY?

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

On May 19, dozens of people responded to a call from the newly formed Winnipeg Labour Defence League to protest the latest visit to the city by Stephen Harper. The Prime Minister was the star speaker at a gala fundraising dinner for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

     In a flyer distributed earlier at factory gates, hospitals and campuses, the Defence League condemned the Harper government for ripping up the Auto workers' collective agreements in Ontario and declaring war on Labour rights across Canada.

     Workers didn't cause unemployment, war, racism, hunger, or the destruction of the earth, says the flyer, but right wing governments are forcing the workers to pay for the economic crisis: "Billions of dollars are spent on the banks and wealthy, while workers are laid off, communities and families are destroyed, pensions disappear, children go to food banks. No worker lives far from utter poverty and ruin. Many people were already in crisis before the recession, not helped by social programs gutted after decades of cuts. These governments have turned Unemployment Insurance into a cruel joke for most. Youth, Aboriginals, women and immigrant workers pay premiums, but rarely get benefits."

     Instead of being doormats for the corporations and wealthy, says the Defence League, "we can join the fight for decent jobs, universal unemployment insurance, and a better world! We need decent jobs for everyone and to lift the burden of the crisis from the backs of workers."

     The Defence League also circulated information on the organization which invited Harper to Winnipeg:

     "Wonder why Stephen `I hate Labour' Harper is the star guest at a gala fund-raising dinner for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, $150 a plate?

     "Supported by dubious facts, poor logic and pompous professors, the Centre emits an unrelenting ooze of reactionary policy ideas designed to boost the fortunes of the millionaire big shots who already have the government's ear.

     "The Centre elevates greed as humanity's highest and only aim. Its policies would grind the needy into the dirt. Its aims are far from benevolent. Yet the government has given the Centre charitable status, so it can give expensive tax receipts to its wealthy backers, paid for by Jane and Joe worker/taxpayer.

     With the Frontier Centre and its professors, rent controls would be gone, public housing would be sold off, labour rights would be curbed, giving corporations more power to crush unions.

     The FCPP wants: privatized child-care; a frozen minimum wage; privatized utilities for Hydro and Water; a "flat tax" where those with lower incomes pay the most; even more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations; no pay equity for women or other discriminated groups; no marketing boards such as the Wheat Board to protect farmers and consumers from the big Agri-monopolies.

     The FCPP has a special place for Aboriginal peoples. In a racist way, it constantly attacks "poor governance" in Aboriginal nations, forgetting the truly massive scale of corporate sleaze and corruption. Failing to recognize the colonial theft of Aboriginal land, it promotes the illusion that Aboriginal peoples are on a level playing field with the non-Aboriginal corporations that own and dominate Canada's land and resources. It attacks the very concept of `national rights,' rights which are fully enjoyed by the Canadian state, but whose denial relegates Aboriginal nations to a position of inequality, humiliation and subjection.

     Are these policies that would help the large part of the working class that lives in perpetual misery from day to day?

     Would these policies lead to a society where everyone receives what they need and contributes what they are able?

     The answer is obvious. The FCPP is a front for the corporations and the wealthy. The FCPP has too much influence over government policies already! They got us into our present mess.
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10) "GREEN SHOOTS" WITHER UNDER HEAT OF RECESSION

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

Special to PV

After a few weeks of unfounded claims about so-called "green shoots", based mainly on temporary stock price increases, the North American and global economies continue to slide. The only positive news is from China, where the domestic economy appears to be holding steady.

     On May 21, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 125 points, after new auto layoffs pushed the unemployment benefit claims to 631,000 during the previous week. The number of Americans on unemployment insurance hit nearly 6.7 million, a 16th consecutive weekly record.

     The TSX index fell sharply on the same day, falling back below the 10,000 mark. The Globe and Mail reported that the market is "reconsider(ing) its optimism over early signs of recovery in the economy, which helped propel a two-month rally that lifted stocks off of 12-year lows in early March." The selloff began a day earlier after the U.S. Federal Reserve said the economy was likely to shrink by between 1.3 and 2 percent this year, up from earlier estimates of 0.5 and 1.3 per cent.

     There are many other signs that investor exuberance has been premature, such as a drop in U.S. retail sales and the ongoing decline in housing prices. The number of new housing starts in the U.S. plunged by 12.8% in April to their lowest level since records began in 1959.

     Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor says it may cut Britain's rating because of rising debt levels, which would raise borrowing costs for the British government.

     Japan's GDP fell at an annualised rate of 15.2% in the first quarter. The Economist magazine states that "the depressing effect on demand of another big decline in exports was compounded by a collapse in business investment."

     In the Euro area, total GDP fell by 2.5% in the three months to March, down to 4.6% lower than a year earlier.

     Spain's economy suffered its largest contraction in 50 years in the first three months of 2009, as GDP fell 1.8% from the previous quarter and was down 2.9% year-on-year. The near-collapse of Spain's key construction industry has hit the economy hard.

     During the same quarter, Germany's economy shrank by almost 7% from its peak in the first quarter of 2008, compared with 5.9% for Italy and 3.2% in France.

     Mexico's economy shrank by 8.2% in the first three months of 2009 compared with a year earlier. Mexico's finance minister has warned that economic output could decline by 5.5% in 2009, the biggest contraction since 1995. Mexican exporters have been hit by the US recession, at the same time as the amount of money sent home by migrant workers declines. On top of these problems, economists estimate that the H1N1 "swine flu" outbreak which began in April could cost the Mexican economy more than $2 billion.

     The fall in exports from China has also been worse than expected. China's exports in April were down 22.6% from a year ago, the sixth successive month of decline, and also bigger than the 17.1% annual drop recorded in March. On the other hand, investment in industrial plants and property in cities was 30% higher in the first four months of 2009 compared to in the same period of 2008. In recent months, the Chinese government has encouraged banks to lend huge amounts to businesses to help them get through the downturn. That money has being spent on new equipment as well as massive infrastructure projects.

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11) JOYA CONDEMNS NATO WAR CRIMES IN AFGHANISTAN

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

     Malalai Joya, an elected member of the Afghan National Assembly, is well known to Canadians for her criticism of both the occupation of Afghanistan and the warlords who are kept in power by NATO military forces. At a May 14 news conference, Joya condemned the ongoing toll of civilian lives caused by NATO warplanes. While Canadian troops do not use the fighter-bombers responsible for the recent deaths in Farah province, these planes are called in by Canadian troops for back up. Canadian Forces have also used attack helicopters and the type of phosphorous shells which reportedly caused significant injuries during the May 4 battle the Bala Baluk district of Farah, near the Iranian border.

     The U.S. military continues to claim that "only 30" civilians were killed on May 4, along with 65 Taliban soldiers. But Afghan and independent sources put the civilian deaths as high as 164, most killed in bombing attacks after the Taliban had already left the area. Red Cross officials who visited Bala Baluk saw dozens of bodies in each of two different villages.

     Here is the statement by Malalai Joya:

     As an elected representative for Farah, Afghanistan, I add my voice to those condemning the NATO bombing that claimed over 150 civilian lives in my province earlier this month. This latest massacre offers the world a glimpse of the horrors faced by our people.

     However, as I explained at a May 11 press conference in Kabul, the U.S. military authorities do not want you to see this reality. As usual, they have tried to downplay the number of civilian casualties, but I have information that as many as 164 civilians were killed in the bombings. One grief stricken man from the village of Geranai explained at the press conference that he had lost 20 members of his family in the massacre.

     The Afghan government commission, furthermore, appears to have failed to list infants under the age of three who were killed. The government commission that went to the village after three days - when all the victims had been buried in mass graves by the villagers - is not willing to make their list public. How can the precious lives of Afghans be treated with such disrespect?

     The news last week is that the U.S. has replaced their top military commander in Afghanistan, but I think this is just a trick to deceive our people and put off responsibility for their disastrous overall strategy in Afghanistan on the shoulders of one person.

     The Afghan ambassador in the U.S. said in an interview with Al Jazeera that if a "proper apology" is made, then "people will understand" the civilian deaths. But the Afghan people do not just want to hear "sorry." We ask for an end to the occupation of Afghanistan and a stop to such tragic war crimes.
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12) SOMALI PIRACY: PREDICTABLE RESULT OF GLOBAL EXPLOITATION

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Stephen Von Sychowski

If someone had said two years ago that piracy would soon be a serious international issue, most people would have disregarded the claim as the delusional result of watching too many Johnny Depp movies.

     Yet today, cases of real-life piracy can be found in the pages of every major newspaper on nearly a daily basis. The pirates are portrayed as simply bad apples, greedy, or otherwise morally reprehensible. But, like the rest of us, they are merely the product of their environment.

     Somalia, like other African countries, is impoverished and underdeveloped due to a long history of exploitation going back to the days of slavery and colonialism. When Somalia's central government collapsed in the early 1990s, the United States was quick to intervene. Corporate interests had their eyes on Somalia as a source of natural resources (oil, iron ore, copper, salt, etc.) as well as potential cheap labour. They also considered it militarily strategic due to its proximity to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

     For these reasons, U.S. imperialism, directly and through its puppet governments in neighbouring countries, has consistently played a provocative, warmongering and destabilizing role in Somalia. Over 1.1 million people have been displaced in recent years, helping to ensure that the country remains unable to pull itself out of the cycle of foreign control and exploitation which has led to its impoverishment.

     This situation in general, and more specifically, the theft and destruction of the natural resources on which Somalia's coastal villages survive, has given birth to the surge of piracy.

     The majority of piracy takes place in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean. Villages along the Somali coast depend largely upon fishing for their livelihood. In the past, families could fish enough to feed themselves and to sell additional catches in local markets. But today this source of livelihood has been stolen from the Somali people by foreign corporations.

     Fishing trawlers are frequently targeted by pirates. These trawlers, owned primarily by Asian and European companies, have robbed the Somali people of an estimated $300 million per year by depleting the fish stocks upon which many villages depend. These profiteers, who are illegally pillaging fish and other sea life from Somali offshore territory, are in many ways the real pirates, or at any rate, the real thieves.

     Perhaps even more reprehensible has been the dumping of nuclear and toxic waste along the Somali coast by European corporations. This dumping came to light in December 2004, when the Indonesian tsunami stirred up tones of waste and revealed to the world the poisoning of the Somali people and their shores by foreign corporations for profit. It is estimated that the costs of "disposing" of this waste in Somalia was a mere $2.50/tonne, as compared to nearly $1000/tonne to properly dispose of the waste in Europe. This very profitable venture for the corporations came at a high price for the Somali people, many of whom suffer from radiation sickness characterized by skin and respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding and abdominal hemorrhages. The dumping of nuclear and toxic waste has also caused a major environmental crisis in the affected areas, reaping further havoc on the available fish stocks.

     Somalia's agriculture-based economy has also been hard hit by intense drought, which threatens the possibility of famine if foreign aid is not sufficiently applied. According to BBC reports, nearly half the population is suffering malnutrition, with roughly 24% of children under five year of age suffering from acute malnutrition.

     Against this war-torn backdrop of hunger, desperation and lawlessness, there is little wonder how piracy came to flourish.  

     Predictably, the imperialist countries (the primary targets of pirate attacks) are focusing on military-based "solutions" to the problem. Much like organized crime in North America, piracy in Somalia will not be stopped by more violence, enforcement and suppression. The situation was caused by the vicious profiteering policies of imperialism, and will only be solved by addressing these root causes.

     Foreign troops, military bases and interference in the affairs of government must be removed from Somalia, and the right to self determination and sovereignty must be guaranteed. Foreign assistance to the Somali people should be rendered in the form of reparations for years of war, theft of resources and polluting of territory. Foreign companies and governments should be held responsible to pay for cleaning up the mess they have made. If not, incidences of piracy will likely continue to increase as starving Somalis struggle to feed their families.
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13) A CLEAR ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences, John Bellamy Foster and Fred Magdoff, Monthly Review Press, 2009, 160 pages, reviewed by Tim Pelzer

The economic collapse spreading through the world is being blamed on greedy American bankers who peddled sub-prime loans to people with risky credit histories. John Bellamy Foster and Fred Magdoff, authors of The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences, disagree. They argue that the sub-prime loan debacle is merely an underlying symptom, rather than a principal cause of the crisis. The main cause of the present crisis is the tendency of mature capitalist economies towards stagnation.

     Building on the works of Marxist economists Paul Sweezy, Paul Baran and Harry Magdoff, the authors define stagnation as a state where economies operate far below their potential in terms of production with high unemployment/underemployment. Stagnation is the normal state of mature capitalism rather than rapid growth. The main growth engine in advanced capitalist countries such as the US, Japan, Canada and western Europe, as well as developing capitalist countries have become speculative bubbles, fueled by massive consumer, government and corporate debt.

     Foster and Magdoff say the main reasons for stagnation include the development and maturation of industry, and the absence of new technologies that generate epoch making, profound transformations of the economy, such as with the introduction of the car. They point to growing inequality in the distribution of wealth and income, which undermines working class consumption, leading to reduced investment as unused industrial capacity mounts and the wealthy speculate more instead of investing in the real economy, and to monopolization which undermines price competition.

     The "golden age" of capitalism, lasting from 1950 to 1969, came to an end by the 1970s as profitable investment opportunities dried up in the "real economy" of producing goods and services. Economic growth rates and corporate profits declined and unemployment increased. Attempts to restore profitability by reducing wages failed. High military spending and the sales effort were not enough to revive growth.

     Corporations and wealthy investors turned to the finance industry, "as capital sought to leverage its way out of the problem by expanding debt and gaining speculative profits", write the authors. This sector grew, offering more exotic financial products based on speculation and gambling. Unlike the real economy, finance does not produce real goods, services or many jobs. Most money invested in the stock market is not used to expand production. Economist John Maynard Keynes suggested that the stock market is primarily a product of investors trying to reduce their risks investing in real production. Money-making through speculation has increasingly displaced production of goods and services.

     The housing market collapse in US is simply the latest speculative bubble that has burst, generated by capitalism's stagnation tendencies. When the stock market bubble crashed in 2000, the Clinton administration lowered interest rates, staving off a deep recession. The availability of cheap money meant that households were able to increase borrowing on homes, cars and credit cards, spurring economic growth and hyper-speculation. The combination of low interest rates and longer mortgages resulted in affordable monthly payments, despite soaring housing prices. Huge amounts of capital flowed into the real estate market. The banks gave sub-prime loans to the poor to buy houses with initially low interest rates, convincing many that soaring housing prices would allow them to refinance their mortgages once the "teaser" rates expired.

     The banks packaged these loans together into securities and sold them to US and international investors, banks and hedge funds. In 2006, the US government raised interest rates, leading to falling housing prices and a wave of defaults. The bubble deflated.

     US and international investors and the finance industry, who had borrowed and speculated heavily in mortgage backed securities, found that they were holding worthless assets, leading to panic selling and a credit crunch. Heavily indebted US consumers cut spending, triggering a world-wide recession.

     Based on debt, these speculative bubbles are unable to produce rapid economic advance for any length of time, leading to recurring crises, according to Foster and Magdoff. After each bubble explodes, greater amounts of debt are needed to stimulate growth. US consumer, corporate and government debt loads have increased dramatically over the last 30 years.

     Japan, whose stock market and real estate bubbles burst in the late 80s and early 1990s, has been mired in stagnation ever since, despite numerous attempts to stimulate the economy through massive government spending on infrastructure.

     The authors argue that the developed and developing capitalist countries now face a long period of recession or depression followed by stagnation, characterized by at the best minimal growth and high unemployment. Deflation, marked by falling housing and consumer goods prices, is the newest danger, threatening further production cuts and layoffs.

     Bailing out the US banking system, as the Obama administration proposes, will not resolve the problem. The only fundamental solution is to replace capitalism with socialism, where there is a massive redistribution of wealth and income and the economy is geared towards meeting social needs, state the authors.

     Written in simple, clear language that an average reader can understand, The Great Financial Crisis offers a concise, well documented analysis of the world wide economic downturn and what needs to be done to overcome the crisis.

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14) NEW COMMUNIST PM FOR NEPAL

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Kimball Cariou

Politics in Nepal took an unusual twist last month, with the May 4 resignation of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ("Prachanda"), elected last year when his party finished first in voting for the Constituent Assembly. On May 23, the C.A. picked his replacement - Madhav Kumar Nepal, a veteran leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist). The new Prime Minister was backed by 22 out of the 25 parties represented in the Assembly, and the support of 359 out of 601 C.A. members.

     Prachanda's resignation was precipitated by a dispute over the process of integrating former Maoist rebels into the regular army. Having fought a bitter civil war prior to the political settlement which paved the way for the country's return to democracy, the two military forces remain suspicious of each other.

     Similar difficulties affected the workings of Nepal's first post-monarchy government. The May 2008 election saw the Maoists win 30% of the vote and 229 seats, followed by the right-wing Nepali Congress (22%, 115 seats), then the CPN(UML), with 21% and 108 seats. The Madhesi People's Rights Forum, one of several parties based among the "madhesi" people who have long faced discrimination in Nepal, won 6% of the vote and 54 seats. Months of intense negotiations resulted in a power-sharing government which included Prachanda and nine CPN(M) cabinet ministers, along with six for the CPN(UML), four for the MPRF, and four more for smaller parties.

     But by all accounts, this new coalition was fragile, with sharp differences over immediate issues overshadowing the goal of socialism shared by the two major Communist parties. The process of democratic transformation was also hindered by repeated accusations that members of the youth group affiliated to the Maoists were responsible for attacks and even killings of political rivals. These problems were accentuated by P.M. Prachanda in a television interview in which he projected a strategic line that his party would succeed in taking over the armed forces and consolidating power. Prachanda openly predicted that within a few elections, the Maoists would win virtually universal support among the people, rendering other parties irrelevant.

     Meanwhile, the official Nepalese armed forces displayed reluctance to absorb former Maoist fighters, who are to be given a choice between joining the army or accepting compensation. This issue led Prachanda to attempt to fire Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal without the support of the other coalition parties. When President Ram Baran Yadav blocked this move, Prachanda turned in his resignation, blaming "foreign powers" for their role in Nepal. In the geopolitical framework of Nepal's politics, this was a clear reference to India.

     Speaking to journalists after being elected, Madhav Kumar Nepal said his government would "continue its journey of consensus to fulfil its responsibilities."

     Born in Gaur, Rautahat district, the 56-year old M.K. Nepal holds a degree from Tribhuvan University. He joined the communist movement as a teenager, and was detained under the Treason Act in 1976 and imprisoned for two years. During the 1980s he played a key role in democracy movements, and was the CPN(UML)'s general secretary for 15 years until his personal defeat in the 2008 elections. In 1994, he held the posts of Defence and Foreign Affairs in a CPN(UML) government which lasted ten months. He made significant contributions to ending the civil war, helping to bring the Maoists into mainstream politics, including his work on the 12-point agreement between the Seven-Party democratic alliance and the Maoists in 2005. He heads the Constitutional Committee which has the task of drafting a new constitution by 2010.
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15) WAVE OF FASCIST ATTACKS FOLLOWS INDIAN ELECTION

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

Special to PV

     The western media has been lavish in its praise for the pro-imperialist Congress Party victors in the recent elections for India's Lok Sabha (parliament). But not a word is said about the bloody right-wing offensive against the left and secular parties, which campaigned as the Third Front coalition.

     This attack has been most intense in West Bengal, where the Trinamul Congress party (TMC) made big gains. In recent years, frustrated by repeated losses in this state of 80 million people, the TMC (formed by Mamata Bannerjee after her expulsion from the Indian National Congress in 1997) and other opposition forces have turned to violence against the Left Front, which has governed since 1977. Dozens of Communist Party of India (Marxist) members and other Left Front activists have been murdered by supporters of the TMC, Congress Party, and Maoists.

     This mayhem accelerated during the election campaign. Between March 7 and May 13, 26 CPI(M) members were killed, hundreds of Left Front activists were attacked, and many homes burnt down. In another incident, three electoral officers were killed by Maoists in a landmine blast.

     The Bengal CPI(M) leadership says the TMC's goal is to terrorise Communist supporters and drive them out from selected areas. The TMC is deliberately provoking police intervention, hoping to destabilize the elected state government and cripple its ability to implement pro-people policies. This tactic recalls the violent period of the early 1970s, when reactionaries used bombs and bullets to block the Left from coming to power in Bengal.

     The People's Voice correspondent in India, B. Prasant, has detailed many examples of the latest wave of attacks:

     In Murshidabad constituency, Congress supporters killed CPI(M) activist Mantaj Sheikh, and unleashed terror in the Raninagar area, killing police officer Gopal Mandal.

     In Uluberia constituency, Trinamul activists attacked Chitnan village, looting and setting fire to 43 houses, and torturing women and children. In Kaliaganj, Malda, thirty houses of CPI(M) workers were set on fire.

     In Birbhum constituency, Trinamul goons attacked Dhiren Bagdi, an elected CPI(M) representative. The criminals injured at least 15 other CPI(M) workers, and set fire to a party camp office, vehicles and red flags. In other areas of Birbhum, attacks took place in the guise of victory processions.

     Trinamul attacks in other parts of Bengal ranged from physical assaults, to digging up roads and setting fire to police vehicles. In many places CPI(M) offices were targetted.

     In response, Prasant reports, "all across the state, we have received news that protest marches are organised by the CPI(M) and the Left Front. Such processions have taken place throughout the day of 18 and 19 May in nearly all districts of Bengal. The processions attract a few hundred people each at the moment, but the swing is evident that in the days to come resistance will be offered when further attacks are organised by the Trinamuli goons. In the meanwhile, attacks continue to rain down on CPI(M) Left Front workers."

     The first victim of the post-election assaults in Bengal was Arabinda Mondal, a 39-year-old Forward Bloc party member who was one of the architects of the Left Front victory in rural elections last year. Mondal ran a cell phone repair shop where supporters gathered in the evenings. The shop was attacked while he was alone at mid-day. After a severe beating, Mondal's head was smashed in with a brick, and he died with clothing stuffed into his mouth.

     Even children are not spared, reports Prasant: "At Bada Kaimari village at Sitalkuchi in Coochbehar up north in the state, the Trinamuli goons perpetrated a heinous crime on a small child of five. In the name of victory festival, they tied a long string of crackers around the body of Kochi, a son of local CPI(M) supporter Shahid-ur Mian. Then they set the crackers afire, causing the panic-struck young boy to run around, madly screaming, as the goons whooped it up with derisive laughter. The boy had later to be hospitalised for burn wounds and trauma."

     At Kaliachak's Nomopada, home to poor people belonging to the scheduled castes, Trinamuli hoods shot at the homes of CPI(M) workers and supporters while indulging in similar victory marches. Huts were wrecked, some set on fire, and the people driven away to take shelter in neighbouring villages. At Englishbazar, on Maldah, the haystack of a poor CPI(M) worker, Sudhakar Das, was torched. Display boards of the CPI(M)'s Ganashakti newspaper were smashed throughout the district and elsewhere in Bengal.

     In Hooghly, Trinamuli members looted and demolished the roadside stalls of CPI(M) workers Khshudiram Majhi and Susanta Majhi. A total of 25 CPI(M) supporters were injured in this attack, which forced women and children to shelter for the night in terror amongst nearby rice paddies.

     And the list goes on and on: "at Murarai in Birbhum, eighteen CPI(M) workers received injuries as a result of a sudden armed Trinamuli assault... the vehicle and house of Manik Sheikh was completely demolished by attackers waving the Trinamuli colours... at Ranaghat's Phulia crossing, Trinamuli hoods assaulted with sharp weapons CPI(M) worker Rabindranath Biswas and his 80-year old mother. Both lie in serious condition at the Ranaghat Alunia hospital... A doctor at Barasat was attacked and injured for his affiliation with the CPI(M)... Khamarpara local committee leaders of the CPI(M), Maidul, Rahaman, and Hamid were assaulted with sharp weapons and hospitalised. At Panihati in the same district, four shops were wrecked... At Sandeshkhali, the house of AIDWA (All-India Democratic Women's Association) leader Pritikana Das was wrecked. More than 100 CPI(M) workers had to leave their residences and take shelter elsewhere out of the district..."

     Trinamuli attacks reached into Kolkata, the capital of Bengal: "Northern parts of the city have been made special targets of the Trinamuli attacks, from Pathuriaghata Street in `old Kolkata,' to the more recent Beliaghata bustee, and the Narkeldanga locality, attacks are being mounted on CPI(M) workers and sympathisers in a systematic manner. Ganashakti boards have been pulled down, ripped apart, and set fire with impunity. The attacks continue in the suburbs. At Maheshtala, a township in south 24 Parganas, variety goods stalls of three CPI(M) supporters were wrecked completely, and the remains set on fire, pauperising the three small traders completely.

     "Another feature in Basarat is the extortion of money from CPI(M) workers and their relatives, the amounts ranging from 5,000 rupees up to a lakh or two (100,000-200,000). Any negation meets with severe beating and worse, come night time. Staying in Barasat, the Trinamulis looted houses of a dozen-odd CPI(M) workers and made off with all their life savings, wrecking their huts as well."

     Prasant also notes that "The corporate media has assumed its new anti-Communist role. They print photos of CPI(M) workers grieving, and caption them as having been beaten up by CPI(M), and the shameless charade goes on and on."

     The CPI(M) leadership and their Left Front partners are mobilizing to beat back this fascist attack, which is coupled with right-wing demands for the central government to use Article 356 of the Indian Constitution to order new state elections. India has a history of such interference by the centre, usually with the purpose of ousting progressive state governments.

     At the same time, the Left parties have begun a serious examination of their setbacks. At a packed news conference on May 21, Bengal Left Front chair Biman Basu condemned the attacks, and called for peace to prevail. He reported that the Left candidates won 18.5 million votes in Bengal, or 43.30% of the total, while the Trinamul Congress and its allies won 19.1 million votes, or 45.67%. This close outcome gave the Trinamuli coalition 26 seats, to 15 for the CPI(M) and its partners.

     Biman said there was no reason to advance the state assembly polls scheduled for 2011. He added that the Left Front had not asked for any such advancing of election dates in 1977, calling this claim a "big lie" drummed out by the corporate media.

     The results come a year after Bengal's May 2008 local elections, which the Left Front won despite a decline in its votes. At the time, Biman Basu pointed to weaknesses in the political work of the Communists and the Left among the rural populace, and instances of "egoistic behaviour," which contradict the high expectations placed on the Left parties. He also noted gaps in implementation of rural development programmes, and the difficulties of carrying out rural development projects in a class-divided society where key powers remain with the central government. The Left Front's historic land reforms in Bengal have benefitted the rural population, but there are limits to such gains. In recent years, the Left Front has advanced industrialisation projects to generate employment, a strategy which has created some dislocations which have been opportunistically seized by the Trinamul Congress to stir up discontent.

     Meanwhile, in a preliminary statement, the CPI(M) PolitBureau said, "The Left parties had allied with certain non-Congress, non-BJP parties in various States. This was required so that a secular electoral alternative emerged. However, these alliances forged in some States on the eve of the elections were not seen by the people as a credible and viable alternative at the national level."

     In the PolitBureau's assessment, the Congress gained from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Forest Tribal Act and other social welfare measures pushed through under Left pressure. The Congress also got more support from minorities and secular-minded people who wanted to prevent a comeback by the reactionary BJP.

     The PolitBureau said both national and State-specific factors were responsible for the reverses in the states of Bengal and Kerala, where the Left parties lost 25 seats, keeping just 16 of their 2004 total. The CPI(M) national vote share dropped to 5.52%, only marginally less than the 5.66% it won in 2004. In Tripura, the third state governed by the Left, the CPI(M) won both seats.
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16) WHAT'S LEFT

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)
SURREY, BC

Building People to People Solidarity, public forum on Pakistan - Sat., May 30, 2-5 pm, Newton Library, 13795-70th Ave., organized by Fraser Valley Peace Council, Siraat Collective, and Pakistan Action Network http://www.pakaction.org.
VANCOUVER, BC

Left Film Night - Centre for Socialist Education, 706 Clark Drive. Sunday, May 31, 7 pm: STRIKE, the 1925 classic by Sergei Eisenstein. Free admission, donations welcome, call 604-255-2041 for details.

Picket the Jewish National Fund Dinner - Sunday, May 31, 5 pm, Four Seasons Hotel, W. Georgia & Howe, called by Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver.

The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy, book launch with author Yves Engler - Tue., June 2, 7 pm, SFU Harbour Center, 515 W. Hastings, organized by StopWar.ca.

3rd Annual Women’s Housing March - Sat., June 13, 1:30 pm, join the Power of Women Group march for housing and against poverty, starts from Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, 302 Columbia (corner of Cordova, just west of Main).

Solidarity with Afghan women - Friday, June 19, 7:30 pm, Unitarian Sanctuary, 949 W. 49 Ave., speaker Sonali Kolhatkar, co-director, Afghan Women’s Mission, organized by Vancouver StopWar Coalition, co-sponsored by Vancouver Unitarians Social Justice Committee.

17th Annual People’s Voice Victory Banquet - starts 6 pm, Sat., June 20, Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Ave., tickets $10-$20 sliding scale, call PV office, 604-255-2041.
WINNIPEG, MB

28th annual Peace Walk, Sat. - June 13, meet 12:30 pm at the Manitoba Legislature. For information: Peace Alliance Winnipeg, 774-2889.

Rally to reform Workers Compensation - Mon., June 15, Injured Workers group, for details of location and time, call Rick 783-6244.
SASKATOON, SK

Political discussion & beer, all welcome to join Saskatoon CPC members - third Monday of every month, in the tv room at Amigo’s, 632-10 St. East.

TORONTO, ON

The Federal Role in Poverty Reduction, town hall meeting with Campaign 2000 - Monday, June 1, 6-9 pm, Metro Hall, 55 John St.

Canadian Cuban Friendship Association AGM - Thursday, June 4, 1604 Bloor St. West., doors open 7 pm, refreshments 7:30. Guest Speaker: Cuban Ambassador Teresita de Jesus Vicente Sotolongo. For info, call Liz Hill, 416-654-7105.

Good Jobs for All Rally, Sat. - June 13, 1 pm, at Metro Hall, 55 John St., organized by CLC, Toronto & York Region Labour Council, Good Jobs for All Coalition, call 416-441-3710 ext. 223.

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$50,000 FUND DRIVE
17th Annual Banquet on June 20

(The following article is from the June 1-15, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

People’s Voice Fund Drive is now over the 60% mark. Since our last issue, a further $3400 has been raised, taking our new cross-Canada total to $30,368, or 60.7%.

Ontario continues in the lead with $15,100 raised, or 68.7% of their $22,000 target. Thanks go out to our supporters in the Niagara Peninsula, who organized a BBQ fundraiser on May 24, and to clubs in Toronto, who held their annual Cuban “Paladar” dinner the previous day.

Saskatchewan is still in second place, at 62.5% ($500 towards their $800 target). Right on their heels are the other prairie provinces. Alberta has turned in $1428 and Manitoba has jumped up to $1415; that works out to 59.5% and 59.0% of their $2400 targets.

Our British Columbia supporters put the Fund Drive on hold for four weeks during the recent provincial election campaign, but they are now over the half-way point. $10,351 has been raised in B.C., or 50.3% of their $20,600 goal. At the most recent Left Film Night in  Vancouver, the Montivero Club raised over $200 for the Drive. Congratulations, comrades!

Our next big event is the 17th Annual PV Victory Banquet, set for Saturday, June 20, at the Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Ave., Vancouver. The Banquet Committee has announced that the programme will start at 6 pm, with dinner served at 7 pm. They promise over 20 door prizes, cabaret-type entertainment, live music, “food of the world” (including vegetarian options), and “the best company in the Lower Mainland.” This year’s guest speaker will be Sam Hammond, BC provincial organizer of the Communist Party. Tickets for this extravaganza are on a sliding scale, $10-$20 for adults (children under 12 free). You can pay at the door, or pick up advance tickets at the PV Editorial Office, 706 Clark Dr., tel. 604-255-2041 or 604-254-9836. 

       As you know, we are once again offering something in return for your generous solidarity. This year’s “PV Shopping Bag” includes the following:
  •  a 12-month complimentary PV sub (keep it or give it to a friend);
  •  People’s Voice 2009 Calendar;
  •  People’s Voice “Karl Marx” Tshirt (tell us what size);
  •  a surprise music CD - pick classical, oldies, or folk.
    Here’s how it works. For a $100 donation, you will receive your choice of one of these items. For each additional $100, you can choose another item from our Shopping Bag. For a donation of $1000 or more, take the entire Shopping Bag, and we will also give a lifetime subscription to you or a friend.

    Remember - People’s Voice is your newspaper, your voice in the information wars. Your contribution helps us build it bigger and better! 

 
 Here's my contribution to the PV Fund Drive!

Enclosed please find my donation of $_____
to the 2009 People's Voice Press Fund Drive.

Name __________________________________

Address ________________________________

City/town ______________________________

Prov. ________ Postal Code _______________

Send to: People's Voice, 133 Herkimer St.,Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3


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